Corrupted Symbol
by FoundingRaiderChrona
Summary: When the brilliant light arrived, everyone thought the darkness would be defeated and returned to the other dimension... Obviously, they were wrong. (Rating may go up, I honestly don't know. First story published!) (Not sure of genres either...)
1. 00: Prologue

_**Hello one and all to 'Corrupted Symbol', my first ever published fan-fiction! This story takes place in the 'Ultimate Zero' universe right after episode 44. Before starting I'd just like to say how happy I am to finally publish a story o this site and that I hope you enjoy reading this. Now I won't keep you any longer, so without further ado (is that how you say it?), here's 'Corrupted Symbol'!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Battle Spirits in any way what-so-ever. I'm just a fan who has an overactive imagination. This story is one of the results of that.**_

 _ **Started chapter: 1/27/16-Finished chapter: 1/29/16**_

 _ **...**_

Kiriga stared out at the burning land in front of him. The Morning Star, Eris, who was I her red battle form like him, was lying on the ground to the right of him along with the crew of the Venus. The Triumvirate and Miroku, and Denebola and Rukinosu of the 12 Reverse Zodiac, all in their battle forms as well, lay at his left. Behind him, countless of card battlers, the 7 Galaxy Generals, former members of the Guild, citizens you name it. All taken down, card scattered around them.

And the Number One Starship crew... Kiriga was still trying to believe it.

Unlike him and the other battlers around him, who all had small cuts on them, the small family-like crew had visible burns and large cuts, and their battle forms were practically shredded, or dented in Salt's case.

The spirits the attacker brought out were targeting the crew, and only them, as he laughed in sick glee at their attempts to fight back.

'And the worst part,' Kiriga thought, 'Is that they won't stop until they get through to him.'

At he thought this, the Shooting Star looked up at their opponent in the sky, their battle form a twisted version of what it used to be. Kiriga slowly got to his feet, determination showing on his face.

'And nether will I.'

When he was up, some of the spirits attacking Ultimate Mugandragon charged towards him. Kiriga narrowed his eyes as he drew a card from his deck holder.

 _"Magic: Flame Tempest!"_ A fiery tornado emerged from the card and engulfed the attacking spirits. The Shooting Star continued forward to where the Number One Star-ship's crew was, using different magics and firing arrows from a miniature version of Ultimate Sagitto Apollodragon's bow at any approaching spirits. A scream from Laila and the sadistic laughter that followed after made Kiriga cringe.

'How...why did things end up like this?'

He looked up towards the source of the laughter, looking for any flash of emotion other than sadistic glee on their face. He found none.

'Can't you hear the screams of your serious friends?'

Kiriga continued forward, his speed increasing with each step. His attacks became more frantic as he neared Salt and the April siblings, his eyes never leaving the figure in the sky. On a cliff some distance away, a shadowed figure looked onto the battle-torn field chuckling, which soon turned into full blown laughter. Behind him, 7 other figures stood.

 _"Ironic isn't it,"_ The first figure questioned, _"That the humans have come to this position?"_

'Wake up...'

 _"The brilliant light that was supposed to be their salvation... the savior of their precious space..."_

'Wake up damn it...'

 _"Was nothing more than the darkness that will bathe everything in destruction!"_

"WAKE UP! REI!"

 _ **...**_

 _ **Well... that happened... Anyway, that was the prologue of Corrupted Symbol, hope you enjoyed it! As for when I'll update next, I honestly don't know, but after a couple of posts I may be able to tell you about when you should expect an update, hopefully.**_

 _ **Until The Next Raid! (I've always wanted to write that XD!)**_


	2. 01: Premonition

_**Hello again and welcome back to 'Corrupted Symbol'!**_

 _ **So yeah, first actual chapter. Just saying, the only reason I updated so soon was that I had this chapter pre-written, still working on the next one. Oh yeah, I'm also using whatever limited knowledge of Japanese honorifics I know of. Not words, I don't know how to spell them. Anyway, with that aside, enjoy the chapter! (If any characters are OOC I'm sorry)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Battle Spirits in any way or form.**_

 _ **Started chapter: 1/29/16-Finished: 2/2/16**_

 _ **...**_

The moment they arrived back on Miroku's ship, Nakes had left the bridge, much to Miroku's and the Galaxy Triumvirate's confusion, to ponder. Specifically about the Number One Star.

Everything Nakes knew about him was from Miroku's thoughts and that he was the cause of the darkness in the boy's heart. But after the two of them defeated both the brunette and the Shooting Star, he managed to get a good look at the human. Normally he would think of them as nothing but insects, but this particular one caught his attention. It was the only reason he didn't consume the two when Miroku said not to.

Nakes felt disgusted at himself for fussing over such a thing, but he couldn't help it. He knows that he has seen that human's face before, possibly long before he met Miroku. Like a forgotten memory...

The Reverse Zodiac user felt his eyes slowly widen as he came to a revelation. How could he have not seen it sooner? And if the conclusion he had come to was true...

A dark smile crept onto Nakes' face. If his suspicions were correct, then all he has to do was play his cards right, both literally and figuratively, and he'll be able to accomplish more than uptaining the Ultimate Battle Spirits and consuming all of space. All he had to do was summon a few old friends of his and everything will be be set into motion. Although, calling them 'friends' was more of an exaggeration.

* * *

 _The moment Nakes was released he knew it was only a matter of time before he would be free to cause chaos and destruction once again. Just the thought of hearing the screams of all of those pathetic humans made him tremble in excitement._

 _He suddenly paused in his excitement. He wondered, once he free, which of the three crews should he kill off first? Perhaps he should start with 'his' crew? Oh how he would love to see their horrified faces as he tears them apart, which brought in an off-hand thought that he smiled at._

 _It is nice to finally have a vessel that actually looked like him._

* * *

The last thing Eris remembered before finding herself in this dark, misty area was arriving with the others at the place Rei and Kiriga were when her Ultimate Symbol reacted.

First thing she had noticed when she found herself here was that her decks were missing and that she was the only one here. At least, for the moment.

The Morning Star was tense. Something was terribly wrong, not just because of her surroundings but the fact that she felt as if she wasn't entirely here, wherever 'here' was. Then there was that sense of foreboding...

After a few seconds of standing, Eris realized that the fog bank was slowly lifting.

She wished it didn't.

The female barely held back a gasp, much less a scream, at what laid before her. Corpses. Corpses of people, card battlers from the scattered cards around them, and, shockingly, spirits as far as the eye could see. Eris forced the building bile rising up her throat down as she cautiously walked forward, looking to see if there anyone was sill alive. There wasn't.

A flash of light stopped her in her tracks, forcing her eyes to close. When she opened them again, Eris no longer found herself among dead bodies and was now floating in darkness, her Ultimate Symbol the only source of light.

Before she could even begin to wonder where she had been sent to now, a sharp pain emerged in her head, her hand flying up to her temple as images flooded her mind.

* * *

 _Ghoats, and the 2 other currently summoned Reverse Zodiac users, cornered the Shooting and Morning Stars just moments after they had entered the holding chamber. Whenever they tried to get through him, one of the Brave users would summon a spirit to stop them. Ghoats smirked._

 _"Did you really think you could get in here without being caught?"_

* * *

 _" Where am I?" questioned Zero as he looked upon the dimly lit area. He squinted his eyes. "It's way to dark."_

 _**"Really? Personally I like the dark."** A voice whispered into his ear. Zero spun around in surprise to whoever had said that. His face morphed into shock when he saw their face._

 _"You're...!"_

* * *

 _Kiriga glared at his opponent's cold, yet mocking eyes for any sign of struggle or of his friend. Currently there was none. He looked at the cards in his hand._

 _"I know that you're still in there...," He whispered. "And until we find a way to break through to you," The Ultimate user paused as he raised his head._

 _"Keep fighting!"_

* * *

 _Eris' body hit the ground soon after she had left the battle field. She had just barely managed to win. Had she not drawn Ultimate Saviour when she did... Eris didn't even want to think of the outcome._

 _Her sore body could barely register the frantic footsteps of her comrades as she faded into unconsciousness, thinking one last thought._

 _'The damage in that fight was real.'_

* * *

 _Laila, Rikuto, Salt, and Mugen found themselves in a dark, barely lit yellow corridor after being separated from Kiriga, Ian, Eris, and Chocola. As they walked, or in Mugen's case floated, along the path, they eventually came to a large door made of yellow crystal. The group of four looked at one another before nodding. Laila steeped forward and pushed the door open. Her eyes widened._

 _"This is...!"_

* * *

Eris let her hand drop to her side once the pain had subsided. Her eyes were still closed as she calmed her breathing. Just what had she seen?

The Morning Star opened her eyes, hoping everything she had just witnessed to be some odd nightmare. Her eyes only widened as she started forward.

"Number One Star!"

In front of her, while some distance away, was the laying body of her fellow card battler. She briefly noticed that he was wearing something similar to a battle form but decided to wonder about that later. Mostly because of what she saw.

'Tear marks?' This worried the female card battler. Rei, as far as she knew, never cried, and probably never had a nightmare ether.

"Rei?" Cautiously asked Eris. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but by this point, Eris could defiantly say for sure that she was scared, if not terrified. She reached towards the brunette's shoulder only to gasp in surprise as she pulled back.

Her hand went straight through him.

Eris' mind went into a brief panic before reminding herself of the possibility that she was, most likely, just dreaming. Though why she would dream of something like this was beyond her.

 _"You bastard..."_

Eris jumped, she seemed to be doing that a lot now, as she looked towards the source of the voice and was greeted to the sight of Kiriga's back. His arm was outstretched and, from the looks of it, had targeted whoever he was talking to. She rose to her feet and walked next to the Shooting Star to see who could cause such hate in her fellow card battler's voice.

In front of him was, as best as Eris could describe, something straight from a nightmare in human form. Back bangs covered their face keeping Eris from attempting to find out who it was. Even so, Eris couldn't help but shudder. The air around them was cold and held a sense of danger that would send anyone weak-willed running. Thankfully, Eris wasn't one of them.

 _"I'll never forgive you..." Kiriga continued, "Never!"_

 _The man in front of him just gave him a playful smirk and placed his hand, the one not holding his deck, to his chest._

 _**"Why Kiri-kun,"** He chided, his smirk growing as said person growled at the nickname, **"That really hurts. Is that really how you speak to your, what was it again, 'serious friend'?"**_

Eris' eyes narrowed. While she hasn't seen their face, the female space pirate knows that she's hear that voice somewhere, despite it sounding distorted. All she could tell was that he and the Shooting Star know each other, and not in a very good way if Kiriga's voice is anything to go by.

 _"Don't you dare confuse yourself with him!" Kiriga snarled. "You are the reason for all this chaos and everyone's suffering!" Said person just looked proud of himself for earning such a comment._

 _**"So,"** He smiled as his deck glowed brighter, **"Are you just going to stand there, or are we going to fight?"**_

 _ **"Gate Open! Release!"**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **...Yup, first chapter. Oh yeah, I most likely forgot to say this last chapter but any sort of criticism is welcome, so leave a review if you want to! Btw, did this chapter seem to obvious to the plot or is it just me?**_

 _ **Until The Next Raid!**_


	3. 02: Worries

_**Hello and welcome back to 'Corrupted Symbol'!**_

 _ **...So, its been awhile... (laughs nervously). Well I guess I did say it takes me awhile to write, but then again I had a bit of a writers block (I think that's what its called) and I was also being REALLY lazy, so I owe you an apology. I am sorry. But here I am with the next chapter, so that's something! Well, I won't delay you any further, so here's the next chapter of 'Corrupted Symbol'!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Battle Spirits**_ ** _in any way what-so-ever._**

 **_Started: 2/8/16-Finished: 3/9/16_**

 _ **...**_

Saying that Laila was scared would be an understatement, she was terrified. First, Eris-sama collapses as soon as they arrived in, according to Ian, the summoning shrine where the 13th Reverse Zodiac, Nakes the Ophiuchus, was released by Miroku. Then there was finding Rei and Kiriga unconscious and covered in bruises at the entrance. And from what she could gather from Mugen, the two of them were completely and utterly defeated before he and Ian were knocked out.

"Leader, some herbal tea."

"Hm? Ah, thank you."

Laila turned towards Eris-sama, who was previously looking towards the two still unconscious card battlers, to see her given a small cup of tea from Garbo.

She felt her eyebrows furrow in worry. Ever since her idol woke up she would always steal a glance at Rei and Kiriga, as if she was worried that something would happen if she looked away too long. What Laila couldn't figure out was what Eris-sama was so concerned about, they were perfectly safe on the Treasure Ship, right?

"Onee-chan?" Laila felt a tug on her arm. The pinkette looked to her side where her brother, Rikuto, stood with a concerned expression. Laila gave him a small smile and shook her head.

"Don't worry," She said. "I'm just a little tired." Tired of her, as Rei puts it, serious friends fighting and getting hurt while she just watches on the side. Granted, she has been getting stronger, but nowhere near strong enough to help fight back against the Reverse 12 Zodiac Braves.

Next to her, Laila's brother nodded at her claim, but his expression didn't change as he looked back towards Rei's bed. The elder sibling inwardly sighed before shaking her head. She may not be as strong as Rei, Kiriga, or Eris-sama, but she'll be sure to do her best to help in any way she can.

* * *

Rikuto looked towards the digital clock on the side wall. It's been at least four hours, which may not seem like much but they had felt like they were dragging on, since they had found Rei and Kiriga yet they were still unconscious. Mugen said that they had been through a really tough battle with Miroku and someone named Nakes, and with them still not awake, Rikuto could only imagine what had happened after they lost.

"Rei, wake up."

"Kiriga-sama, hang in there."

The younger April looked towards the two dragons floating above their respective partner's bed. Ever since those two had woken up they wouldn't move away from their side. Mugen didn't even budge when Salt made a freshly baked pizza. Then again, no one did...

"Ugh..." Rikuto, and everyone else that was awake, all turned to the two beds where their occupants were waking up. Rei was the first to open his eyes.

"Rei!" Shouted the light colored brunette, relived that his friend was alright.

"You're awake!" Said Salt from the side.

"Thank goodness!" Sighed Laila in relief. Rikuto briefly looked at his sister for her change in attitude and saw that the worried look in her eyes was still there. Deciding that he'd ask her later, the young card battler directed his attention towards his serious friend's bed.

"Kiriga-sama!" Ian shouted worried next to him. As Kiriga slowly got up he was holding a hand to his chest, grunting in slight pain, before giving the glasses wearing dragon a weak smile.

"Nothing's wrong." The older card battler said in an attempt to reassure his partner. Rikuto could tell that Ian didn't believe him.

"You know, you know..." Chocola exclaimed, floating closer to the previously worried group. "Eris-sama knew where you guys were!"

"The symbol reacted." Eris followed after, gesturing to the yellow gem above her chest. "Because the two of you were in danger." Kiriga closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly in thanks.

"Thank you." The blonde's expression then turned serious.

"So another user of the Reverse 12 Zodiac Braves appeared?" Rikuto slightly shivered at the thought of another Reverse Zodiac in their space. Meanwhile, Kiriga got up from the med bay's bed and headed towards the exit.

"It was Ophiuchus." The bulenette stated before stopping in front of the door. "His nature is unknown." Behind him, Laila gave him a worried look.

"You still need to rest." Rikuto nodded in agreement with his sister. Kiriga and Rei were in really bad condition when they had found them on Planet Kisaraam. Kiriga slightly turned his head back and gave them a small smile.

"Sorry," Said Kiriga. "But I want to think about Miroku." With that, the card battler left. Ian floated after him.

"Excuse us."

* * *

Contrary to what he said to Ian, Kiriga knew that there was something wrong with him. Ever since he woke up there was a pulse of pain going through his chest that had been gradually growing as time went on. Right now, he was grateful that there was no one, aside from Ian, in the corridor he was currently in, he was practically tripping over his own feet by now.

Kiriga entered an empty room, breathing heavily now, and leaned on a wall next to the entrance. As the door closed and lights turned on, his trusted partner floated closer next to him.

"Kiriga-sama!" Ian shouted, concern clearly showing in his voice. Said person just grabbed his shirt and tossed it off to the side. What was underneath shocked both the card battler and dragon. All over Kiriga's body there were purple marks on him and his Ultimate Symbol, and it he could feel it slowly spreading.

"Kiriga-sama..." Breathed Ian. "What are those bruises?" Kiriga raised his left arm, which was completely covered in the purple glow, and stared at it in disbelief. This was the exact same poison as before, only it seems to be stronger... Was it because Ophiuchus was released?

The Ultimate user's eyes narrowed. He clenched his hand into a fist and watched as the poison, while still there, fade from view. His partner floated closer to him, red eyes never leaving him.

"Ian," Kiriga warily said. "Don't tell anyone about this."

"Right." Despite saying that, Kiriga knew Ian didn't like it one bit. But he didn't want everyone worry about him when they are faced with the invaders of the other dimension, especially Rei. Knowing him he would drop everything to find a cure for him.

The Shooting Star's frown deepened, speaking of the Number One Star, Kiriga could tell that there was something wrong with the med bay's atmosphere. When he woke up, he didn't miss the brief glances the Morning Star made towards him and said person, like she was worried, no, afraid of something. He didn't know what she was so scared of or what he and Rei had to do with it, but he was also worried, though it was for something entirely different.

Before he woke up in the Treasure Ship's infirmary, Kiriga had found himself in a misty, dim lit area. Then, in a flash of dark light, he was faced with a stranger who looked like they came straight from a nightmare. He couldn't see their face, apart from a cold smile, but what, or rather who, was with them caught his attention. On the right was an unconscious, pale faced Rei who the figure seemed to, oddly enough, handle carefully on their right arm. And on the left was an also unconscious Eris, however, unlike Rei, she was covered in small, but noticeable cuts and bruises and was being dragged on the ground by her collar. Their Ultimate Symbols were also out, including his, but theirs were cracked, Rei's even more so.

 _ **"You won't be able to save them."** _ They had said in a warped and eerily familiar voice. _**"I'd cherish the time you have left with your comrades if I were you, because when I'm free..."**_

The area changed into a fire-ridden wasteland, covered in the dead bodies of humans and spirits, including everyone currently on the Treasure Ship. The nightmarish figure in front of Kiriga spread out his arms, Rei and Eris dissipating into black dust, as if presenting the scenery around them. Their smile grew twisted.

 _ **"...I'll tear you all apart."**_

And the Shooting Star was swallowed up in darkness.

 _ **...**_

 _ **So that's 'Chapter 2: Worries'! I hope that it was worth the wait!**_

 _ **Just a heads up, I'm also working on another story I've already posted, its not in the Battle Spirits archive so don't bother looking, and a third story I'm still writing up, so you all may need to wait for awhile again before I update this one again. But I'll do my best, you can count on that!**_

 _ **On a side note, I just now realize that I forgot Salt for a majority of the chapter, sorry... Let's just say he was off cooking or something for this chapter! I'll have to find a way to get him more involved with the story...**_

 _ **Until The Next Raid!**_


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